Chapter 102: 102: If You Won’t Do It, Plenty of Others Will (2)

Takashi: [I was working at a convenience store at first, but the money was slow. A friend introduced me to a job as a rental boyfriend.] Rental boyfriend? What even was that? Momo, who never paid attention to such things, was just confused when a soft, sweet voice—the kind that would never shout or curse—answered her question. "It's a kind of modern dating service, for people who aren't good at dealing with the opposite sex or feel anxious about relationships. You can choose your 'girlfriend,' and the fee's usually around 5000 yen an hour." "I always thought only girls did this kind of job. Never imagined there were guys doing it too." Momo looked up and found that the senior who had been sitting across from her, Koyasu Tsubame, had somehow wandered over and was now peering at her screen. "Tsubame-senpai?" Momo looked at her helplessly. It was only because it was Tsubame-senpai. If it were any other girl who dared to peek like this... well, actually, no one else would dare get this close to her in the first place. "Sorry, you were just staring at your phone the whole time, not making a move, and you didn't respond when I called, so I came over." "If you don't want me to, I'll stop looking." Tsubame drew her head back and playfully stuck out her tongue. "No need. It's nothing big, really." Momo didn't particularly mind. "He messaged you again." Tsubame helpfully pointed at Momo's phone. Momo refocused her gaze on the screen. Takashi: [After working for a while, I realized the money really did come quickly. Then one day, the company assigned me a client—Shijo Maki.] Shijo Maki? Why was it always that woman... "If, just hypothetically, the person you're trying to protect happens to accidentally mess with the Shijo family, the Kashiwagi family, and maybe, possibly, even the Shinomiya family in the future... would you still be able to protect him?" Suddenly, Momo remembered what Takashi had said to her before. Looking at it now, it all made sense. Takashi: [Then by some strange twist of fate, I met Kashiwagi Nagisa. She said she liked me. I turned her down at the time, but she threatened me using my job—told me not to block her, to reply instantly, to never miss her calls, or she'd expose everything I was doing.] "So that's how it is." Momo murmured. Now it all made sense. Momo suddenly turned toward Tsubame, who was watching with great interest, and asked, "Tsubame-senpai, how well do you know Kashiwagi Nagisa?" Her father had a close relationship with Nagisa's parents, but she herself wasn't familiar with the girl. She always thought Nagisa had a scheming personality. And Nagisa felt the same way about Momo—not easy to get along with. Since both were VIPs at Shuchiin, the two of them usually kept their distance and had no conflicts. "Kashiwagi-san, huh?" Tsubame thought for a bit. "She's pretty cute, seems easy to talk to, clever in a way that matches her looks, sharp with money matters, and easily influenced by others' opinions. Overall, she's a good kid, but..." At this, Tsubame hesitated. She wasn't sure if she should say it. Momo didn't rush her and waited quietly for her to continue. "This is just my impression—it might not be accurate." "I get the feeling that she has a strong admiration and possessiveness toward Shijo-san. Like, a really twisted desire to become one with her." Momo: "???" Wait a second. Something doesn't seem right. What do you mean, "strong admiration and possessiveness"? "S-Senpai... are you saying that the person Kashiwagi Nagisa likes is S-S-S..." She stuttered for a while but couldn't bring herself to say it. Shocking. Everything she'd heard today had been shocking. A female rival, right in their school. Tsubame gave a slight nod. "Mm." After a while, Momo frowned again. "But that doesn't make sense!" "If she likes her, then why would she say she likes Takashi?" Logically, Takashi and Kashiwagi Nagisa should be love rivals. "Maybe she said it on purpose? Because Takashi was getting too close to Shijo Maki?" Tsubame wasn't really sure either. Only the people involved could truly know. On the other hand, Takashi waited a while, but when Momo didn't reply, he switched over to respond to someone else. Shijo Maki: [Takashi, why did that Takashi guy post on your account? He made it seem like it was his phone.] "Knew it, she saw it..." Takashi groaned and rubbed his temples. Even though he deleted it quickly, Maki still saw the post. He hadn't heard back from his other patrons in Chiba yet—he didn't know whether they saw it or not. "Damn it, why'd I post that?" Takashi really regretted it. "Serves you right!" Kei looked on, full of schadenfreude, as Takashi flailed. Serves him right. That's what he gets for keeping so many girls around. That's what he gets for being a flirt. This was karma for someone disloyal in love. "You think this is funny?" Takashi threw the fish at Kei. She fumbled to catch it. The big fish squirmed in her arms, and Kei didn't even care if her clothes got dirty. She gripped it tightly, using all her strength to keep it from flopping away. "Help me pack up the gear." Takashi said as he looked down to reply to Maki. "Why should I?" Kei shot back. "Because I'm your boss right now, and I got you that translation gig." Takashi didn't even look up. "Freshman, you don't want to be out of work forever, do you?" Too despicable! This shameless jerk of a senpai. He didn't even bother pretending anymore—just started threatening her straight up. "I can quit!" Takashi chuckled and delivered the classic capitalist PUA line he'd been waiting to use: "You quit, someone else will take your place." "Before you do anything or say anything, use that brain of yours. Think about your family's situation." Given the Shirogane family's background, Takashi honestly didn't get where this girl found the guts to say something like that. Too many Gen Z workplace-rant TikToks? "If you really think it makes no difference whether you have this job or not, then go ahead and quit." Takashi's words sobered Kei up quite a bit. Still, her eyes burned with frustration as she looked at him. But in the end, she obediently helped pack up the fishing gear. While Kei was busy gathering the tools, Takashi glanced at her and let out a small, almost imperceptible smile. Not bad! So far, he was fairly satisfied with this kid in all aspects. At least his help hadn't gone to waste. If Kei had really stormed off in a fit of anger, Takashi definitely wouldn't bother with her ever again. As for why he helped her? Probably because Takashi saw a reflection of his past self in her. Because he'd been through the rain himself, so when he encountered someone like his past self, he couldn't help but want to hold an umbrella for them. 'He's definitely up to something again.' Now, whenever Kei saw Takashi smile, a chill would run down her spine—she was convinced he was scheming something bad. ___ 20 Advanced Chapters available on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics Also, please point out my mistakes in the comment, thank you! Don't forget to leave a review too~ Check out the other translations too ___